Short Solent Air Disaster 1957

At 22:46, the City of Sydney took off from Southampton Water on its journey to Las Palmas and Madeira via Lisbon. Only eight minutes later, at 22:54, the crew radioed that the number four engine had been feathered and that they were turning to return.

The aircraft

Late in the 1940s, the Short brothers created the smaller Short Solent aircraft from the bigger Short Sunderland. It was too late to begin operation during WWII, but it began regular service with independent airlines on routes like as the one from the United Kingdom to Johannesburg, which took only four days from start to finish with BOAC. Aquila Airways, a smaller airline, was also serving the City of Sydney on this fatal day.

The Disaster

The plane appeared to lose power quickly and fall into a disused chalk pit right above the little settlements of Chessell and Shalcombe. Unfortunately, 43 of the passengers and crew were killed in the disaster. Locals, including novelist JB Priestly and a local police officer, made valiant efforts, but the aeroplane burst into flames before they could aid any more passengers or crew, and everyone on board perished.

The Investigation

According to the investigation, an attempt to cope with the number four engine failure may have resulted in a probable error by the crew and the turning off of a cut off actuator, leading the number three engine to also fail. The plane’s final attitude on impact suggests it was banking at a 45-degree angle, implying that the starboard engines were feathered or non-functional at the time. However, there was no solid evidence to support these claims, therefore the Air Investigation Public Enquiry’s ultimate finding stated “cause unknown.”

• Short – Aqiuila Airways Solent Crash
• Kiwiaircraftimages Report
• Memorial

• Short – Aqiuila Airways Solent Crash